$37,000USD Scandalli

[96Bass]

NEW Black Scandalli Extreme X C System Convertor Chromatic Button Accordion LMMH 107 120

Type: Chromatic Button Accordion Reeds: 4/5 LMMH (A442Hz +2 cents) Treble: 107 Buttons (64 tones E-G), 15.5(39.25cm) Key to Key, 15 + 8 Chin Bass: 120 Bass Buttons (58 tones E-C#), 7 Registers, Convertor, Bayan Bass Switch Weight: 35lbs / 15.75kg

www.libertybellows.com

 

[debra]

So it's priced like a Bugari Spectrum or Pigini Nova... and it's a matter of preference which sound you prefer... but this requires hearing them side by side.

 

[JerryPH]

Hmmm, it's nice and all, but I suppose I am not too fond of the 442hz tuning. A blue rose in a field of red roses... lol

 

[Jaime_Dergut]

Is curious how they have detailed pictures of this instrument, unlike most of their other accordions.

As good as it is, I don't think I will ever dare to buy an instrument that is more expensive than my car alone.

 

[JerryPH]

Is curious how they have detailed pictures of this instrument, unlike most of their other accordions.

All manufacturers have schematics/pics of their offerings, we just rarely if ever see this.

 

[debra]

Hmmm, it's nice and all, but I suppose I am not too fond of the 442hz tuning. A blue rose in a field of red roses... lol

These super-high-end accordions are used only by true concert players who feature as soloist with Philharmonic or Symphonic orchestras. And virtually all of these nowadays play at 442Hz...

 

[JerryPH]

These super-high-end accordions are used only by true concert players who feature as soloist with Philharmonic or Symphonic orchestras. And virtually all of these nowadays play at 442Hz...

Hmmm, quite interesting.

 

[Siegmund]

An orchestra would tune to match the soloist's accordion, not vice versa. The tuning is only a problem when more than one accordion plays together, or an accordion plays with something not easily tuneable like piano or organ.

But a US dealer getting a new instrument at 442 rather than 440 sure feels like an oversight. I can well imagine Liberty Bellows is advertising this one rather than shipping it back after someone special-ordered an Extreme and returned it for wrong tuning; they don't usually have those in stock.

 

[SteveBox]

Liberty Bellows has some expensive accordions, but this is so far above everything else in price that one wonders how they came to offer such an instrument. Is it a special order gone wrong, as Siegmund suggests? They may consider lower offers if anyone is interested.

It is laughable that one of their "suggested upgrades" is a soft case. Really, for a 35 pound / $37K instrument? And don't forget that spray polish, you wouldn't expect them to include it for free, would you? It's the same upgrades they suggest for almost every instrument, but the suggestions seem silly for this one.

 

[oldbayan]

I would be curious to know what is their profit margin on such an instrument! It makes an expensive item in their inventory, with very slim probabilities of selling. Beautiful instrument nevertheless.

 

[JerryPH]

Seems like the standard "Concert Pitch" was never quite standard... lol

Concert pitch - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In this singular document, they don't even mention 442hz, but all different kinds of pitches and how over the ages it's slowly changed.

 

[oldbayan]

Seems like the standard "Concert Pitch" was never quite standard... lol

Concert pitch - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In this singular document, they don't even mention 442hz, but all different kinds of pitches and how over the ages it's slowly changed.

I love standards: there are so many of them

 

[SteveBox]

As Paul De Bra said in this post:

​

I do not know a single accordion maker or reseller/distributer who will ask a customer what frequency their new accordion should be tuned to. 99% or more of the customers are completely unaware that there could even be different tunings that are used. International standards do exist for a reason and people just expect things to be standardized. Alas many things are not standardized. The tuning frequency of new accordions is just one of many examples...​

Oh, that would be so unfortunate for everyone involved if this was a special order, and the tuning was never discussed in advance with either the customer and/or the manufacturer.

From what I have read, A=442 is popular with some European orchestras, but not so much in the USA, most of which use A=440.

 

[debra]

Seems like the standard "Concert Pitch" was never quite standard... lol

Concert pitch - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In this singular document, they don't even mention 442hz, but all different kinds of pitches and how over the ages it's slowly changed.

Concert Pitch likely refers to the tuning of the second M reed bank, not the base tuning of 442Hz. We normally refer to it as Concert Tuning.
Some accordion players do not like completely dry tuning, meaning that M in and outside cassotto are tuned to exactly the same frequency. They then order "concert tuning" which has 2 cents tremolo. I don't like concert tuning much because to my ears it sounds like a dry-tuned accordion that is slightly (but very consistently) out of tune. It is very hard to do concert tuning absolutely right, because the 2 cents tremolo (including going down as the notes get higher) is really hard to achieve. (I have of course done it, so I know what I'm talking about...)

Unfortunately, the orchestra tuning to whatever the soloist has may lead to issues when there are other melodic instruments that are also hard to tune. Think of tubular bells, marimba, glockenspiel... Luckily with these instruments the tuning is not very critical. So far for me it has worked out. A wind orchestra (like college band) may not be very happy to change their tuning but they can do it. They all use 442 here, so when I was soloist with my 440-tuned Bugari accordion they all had to tune down to 440 (and continue to use that for all other songs they played in the same concert). But they did it and it all sounded fine.

 

[Siegmund]

The same issue afflicts people who buy new marimbas and vibraphones and suchlike - and they cost about as much as new accordions, a few thousand for student models up to infinity. Nobody thinks to ask about the tuning before they buy because "everybody (in our area) uses (our area's) standard tuning" and then some random high school band in the US has to tune all the woodwinds and brass up to 442 instead of 440 for the next ten years, because they bought a European marimba and forgot to specify 440 when they ordered.

 

[Walker]

Is curious how they have detailed pictures of this instrument, unlike most of their other accordions.

As good as it is, I don't think I will ever dare to buy an instrument that is more expensive than my car alone.

For those with the money, skill and requirement for such an impressive instrument, that Scandalli Extreme X is simply a mega-accordion and I guess, if it's well looked after, could last for a century and still be a masterpiece at the end of it. Seems to me $37K, in the long run, is good value for money. A car might get you from A to B but that accordion will get you all the other notes too... and a lifetime of musical journeys.

I have a new Scandalli BJP442 Converter that's less than a third of the price and it is an awesome accordion, so I can only imagine how utterly brilliant the Extreme X is - that's a maestro's instrument.

 

[JerryPH]

Concert Pitch likely refers to the tuning of the second M reed bank, not the base tuning of 442Hz. We normally refer to it as Concert Tuning.

The article was complete not about accordions but orchestras in Europe. In North America there seems to be an equal "confusion" about where to tune.

Unfortunately, the orchestra tuning to whatever the soloist has may lead to issues when there are other melodic instruments that are also hard to tune. Think of tubular bells, marimba, glockenspiel... Luckily with these instruments the tuning is not very critical. So far for me it has worked out. A wind orchestra (like college band) may not be very happy to change their tuning but they can do it. They all use 442 here, so when I was soloist with my 440-tuned Bugari accordion they all had to tune down to 440 (and continue to use that for all other songs they played in the same concert). But they did it and it all sounded fine.

I am more thinking of instruments like pianos that would be a bear to tune or ones like Saxophones, where tuning from 440 to 442 does odd things to the timbre and tone of the instrument. I found an article from a composer who had to retune his sax to match and he found it changed the tonal character of his sax negatively as well as many other complaints from other musicians that felt the same.

I don't think it would be as drastic for us, but it does speak to a real issue that is often considered.

 

[JerryPH]

For those with the money, skill and requirement for such an impressive instrument, that Scandalli Extreme X is simply a mega-accordion and I guess, if it's well looked after, could last for a century and still be a masterpiece at the end of it. Seems to me $37K, in the long run, is good value for money. A car might get you from A to B but that accordion will get you all the other notes too... and a lifetime of musical journeys.

I have a new Scandalli BJP442 Converter that's less than a third of the price and it is an awesome accordion, so I can only imagine how utterly brilliant the Extreme X is - that's a maestro's instrument.

I completely agree.

Another factor is that for most of us, we won't ever have the chance to drive a Rolls Royce for a day or a Formula 1 car at speed... but the day after you do, perceptions and needs/desires change fast.

I know the exact day my mindset changed about the Gola, and it was after playing one. A similar thing happened the day after I was able to play 30-ish accordions of varying values and qualities. Suddenly that brilliantly adorned and beautiful "Polka King" accordion became a musical annoyance after following the next choice of playing a simple all maple Siwa Figli Super Quattro.

In some cases, the need for continued improvement drives one to these tiers of instrument, in cases like me, desire to own and enjoy was the main factor, even if I will never get 5% out of that instrument's capabilities... lol